mentoring

we.grow at ADE: Mentorship Program presented by shesaid.so and ADE Lab

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We are excited to renew our partnership with ADE this year with activities that include the we.grow mentoring program supporting music industry professionals as part of ADE Lab 2024 on October 17, 2024.

we.grow at ADE is a mentorship program presented by ADE Lab and shesaid.so, a global music community of women, gender nonconforming people and allies of all genders whose aim is to create an equitable music industry for all through education, events, mentorship,  networking and job opportunities.

In 2024, the program will focus on supporting music industry professionals, featuring a total of 5 mentors and 5 mentees selected from the shesaid.so community.

Previous shesaid.so mentors came from companies such as Coachella Music Festival, Warner Music, Armada Music, Universal Music Group, YouTube Music, Meta, WME, CAA, Atlantic Records, M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment, Believe and more.

Mentee Sign-Up!

To sign up to the mentoring program as a mentee, click HERE.

Mentees can apply to take part until Sunday, September 29.

** Please note that to participate, you will need to be in Amsterdam during ADE Thursday (17th October).

** Application deadline is September 29 and mentees must have a Lab ticket in order to apply.

Open to all genders, with priority given to people from underrepresented communities and disadvantaged backgrounds.

we.grow at ADE - Mentors

  1. Connie Chow - Marketing Strategy Director - Dance/Electronic, FUGA

  2. Elisa Luengo - Music Programmer, Dekmantel

  3. Jessica Wilson - COO, Seven20 

  4. Phiona Okumu - Head of Sub-Saharan Music, Spotify 

  5. Sam Mobarek - Head of Major Recordings (Warner Records) & Founder of Mob Creative

Mentor/Mentee Commitment

  • Read through & apply the information from the mentoring guidelines we share with you prior to their engagement

  • Attend shesaid.so events if logistically possible

  • Spend at least 1h together throughout your ADE attendance and 1h after ADE (2h in total between October 17th and December 31st, 2024)

About we.grow @ ADE

shesaid.so has been working with ADE since 2017 with a focus on programming around diversity and inclusion in the music industry. 

In 2019 we took our partnership to the next level and introduced she.grows at ADE - a mini-mentoring program that paired 10 senior-level members from the shesaid.so community with mentees selected by ADE University. The scheme included an open call, mentor/mentee matching & training, workshops, networking and a DJ showcase

In 2022 we worked together with ADE to bring back the mentoring program, curate talks as part of ADE Pro, and introduce a shesaid.so space as part of the ADE Lab track powered by Zora and hosted at Lynk & Co’s flagship Amsterdam Club.

In 2023 the program focused on 4 areas of the music business, reflecting the tracks that attendees will be able to engage in as part of ADE Lab 2023:  Artists, Producers, Mixed Media and Music Professionals. The program featured a total of 20 mentors and 20 mentees, with 5 mentor-mentee pairs per each of the four Lab areas.


Our goal is to create an inclusive environment where our global community attending ADE can connect with one another and other industry professionals, in addition to learning.  

shesaid.so x PRS POWER UP 2024

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In 2024, shesaid.so once again join forces with PRS to run POWER UP, the long-term initiative supporting Black music creators, industry professionals, and executives, while also addressing anti-Black racism and racial disparities in the music sector.

To achieve our aim, POWER UP X shesaid.so are looking for acclaimed music professionals, both creators and executives, to mentor and coach future industry leaders.

  • Mentors are matched with mentees based on experience, aims, needs, background and requirements by a panel of mentoring experts.

  • The mentors must a deep understanding of the barriers faced by Black music professionals; extensive experience within your area or a specialist skill set. It is recommended by POWER UP X shesaid.so that mentor pairs dedicate 2 hours per month to the 4-month scheme.

We provide training, a guidance handbook, access to 2x mentorship managers and £175 as a nominal gesture of gratitude for the mentors’ time.

If you can commit to 2hrs per month, please register here by the 31st of January.

To check out the success of year 1, 2 and 3 you can click here.

shesaid.so x MPA: Coaching for Progress

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The MPA and shesaid.so have joined forces to present Coaching for Progress – a coaching/mentorship scheme targeting mid/senior level established music publishing executives on the verge of moving into senior leadership roles.

Coaching for Progress aims to elevate our mentees through coaching and, as a result, diversify boardrooms.

The programme has been designed to promote women into senior management positions because of historical discrimination that has led to male-dominated C-suites.

Please apply using this link by Wednesday 15th March.

You will be contacted if you have been selected to be part of our first cohort of Coaching for Progress by the MPA x shesaid.so.

5 successful applicants will commence with the 4-month programme from March 2023 until July 2023. The 5 successful applicants will be paired with a carefully chosen and well-suited mentor to coach them through the 4-month programme. Both mentee and coach will be provided with training and given handbooks to guide the relationship in order to get the most out of it. If you fit the criteria below, please respond to our questionnaire in the link. A minimum of 2 years experience in music publishing, including sync, A&R, copyright, sampling, and business affairs.

Protected characteristics: people representing age, disability, gender reassignment (being an individual who is 'proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process or part of a process to reassign their sex'), marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex (being a man or a woman), and sexual orientation (LGBTQIA+); Aim to step into a leadership role.

we.grow at ADE Mentoring Program 2022

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In 2022 the shesaid.so x ADE mentoring program is back under a new, inclusive name, we.grow at ADE. This year five mentees from the electronic music sphere and five mentees with a more specific focus on the web3 space will be invited along. Mentors are curated from the global shesaid.so community and mentees are invited to apply via the ADE website.

Program Outline

  • 10 mentors & 10 mentees (5 electronic music + 5 web3)

  • 1 Mentor handbook

  • 1 Mentee handbook

  • 1 Mentor/Mentee training session

  • 3 private events

Mentors & Mentees

This year we are excited to invite 5 mentees from the wide electronic music space and 5 mentees with a more specific focus on the web3 space.

The web3 track of the scheme will take place in partnership with ZORA - The open protocol to buy, sell and curate NFTs on Ethereum. We feel particularly aligned with them as a partner, as reflected by their Manifesto.

Web3 is a growing technology area that is changing the music industry as we speak and it is our desire to educate our community about opportunities within it and offer them the chance to learn from the best leaders in this space.

For the regular electronic music track of the scheme, we teamed up with YouTube Music and Meta to host a kickoff and a closing brunch events for mentors and mentees. This is an opportunity for us to create connections for the we.grow participants to these powerful companies. 

Mentees! Apply for a chance to be selected in the program here!

Submission period has been extended to Thursday, Oct 13th

Please note that after sign up, the shesaid.so team will pick 10 lucky mentees to follow this years' we.grow mentorship. Mentees will be contacted on October 14th.

she.grows at ADE 2019

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The she.grows mini-mentor scheme run by shesaidso.ams, ADE University and ADE Beats October 2019 during Amsterdam Dance Event was a big success!

Check out the official video in collaboration with ADE University and ADE Beats:

she.grows mini mentoring scheme at ADE 2019 highlights

Introduction Breakfast for Mentors and Mentees

The she.grows program aims to broaden aspirations beyond the traditional roles and is focused to provide a safe and confidential space to help others make positive, informed choices about their careers.

she.grows aims to raise and broaden participants’ career aspirations, negotiate barriers to career progression and the workplace, and equip them with the skills to navigate challenging ideologies and issues of identity and belonging in the working world. With a total 15 mentor/mentee pairs, the scheme established new connections, opportunities and inspiring talks for everyone involved.

Amongst the mentors, different countries like US, UK, Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, The Netherlands and India were represented, presenting a divers range of experienced professionals, as well as a wide variety of areas of expertise; from Label Management, Artist Management, Bookings, Events, Festivals, Publishing, PR & Marketing, Songwriting and Sound Engineering.

The young professionals, aged 20 to 28 years old, were teamed up with their own mentor for a period of 5 days to experience the unique music conference and festival of Amsterdam Dance Event together.

Kicking things off with an Introduction Breakfast at Wednesday the 16th of October, all pairs got the chance to meet in person for the first time, and discuss their aims and goals for the upcoming week. The rest of the conference week, couples were free to plan their own meet-ups and focus on networking, communication and knowledge exchange in the broadest sense possible. Sunday marked the final day of the program, where both mentors and mentees came together at our ADE Hangover event to wrap up what was an inspiring and motivating week for everyone involved.

We spoke to the mentors and mentees to see how they found the programme.

“Extremely productive, fun and exciting experience, can’t wait for the next one!” — Meli Rodriguez [ Mentee, Costa Rica ]

“Great organization with great opportunity to meet new people of different levels, areas and territories!” — Thea Nordqvist, Head of Label at Amuse [ Mentor, Sweden ]

“Honored to be selected to share my experiences/knowledge within the music industry with the next generation of female music professionals. So happy to see the excitement and eagerness of these kids and proud to see so many great women stepping up to build their careers in music. Onwards and upwards we go!” — Justine Servais, PR & Marketing Manager at Armada Music [ Mentor, NL ]

“Incredibly inspiring!” — Tamanna Mordani, Co-Founder Envision Events [ Mentor, India ]

“Alongside my mentor, every person that I encountered during this week that was in some way affiliated with SheSaid.so was super open to connect, give advice and inspire. she.grows has opened me up to a warm and open network that is there to support each other, and I am so grateful to now be a part of this!” — Robin van der Heijden, Art & Economics Graduate [ Mentee, NL ]

“I met Justine Servais at Armada University on Friday and got to tag along to a network event she had to attend and Armada Invites later that night. I got to meet a lot of her colleagues and people she works with and got the full tour around the Armada office. It was super inspiring to get an insight in the overall vibe that hangs around the place! I also found it very informative to get a look into what her work as a PR-manager entails during a week like ADE.” — Robin van der Heijden, Art & Economics Graduate [ Mentee, NL ]